Peanut butter and jelly wings, pizza and beer, this new Macon restaurant offers it all

Since Foodie Friday started, new restaurants have typically been off-limits, but a suggestion recently came in for us to try out Macon Beer Company Taproom & Kitchen.

The restaurant opened up in December of 2019 with the intention of combining their already popular beer with innovative food that would provide a new spot in downtown Macon for those looking to hang out, drink beer and eat good food.

General manager Thad Hartzog has been involved in the downtown Macon food scene for years, including spending time at The Rookery. He has seen downtown’s improvement and is excited to be a part of this new venture.

“The growth here has been tremendous. I remember when I was a teenager you didn’t hang out downtown but now this is the place to go,” Hartzog said. “It is a foodie central down here. If you want food this is the place to be in downtown Macon. I am super excited to be a part of the hustle and bustle of that foodie group.”

One of the challenges the restaurant has faced since it’s opening is people not knowing they serve food. Hartzog said that many think they are just the Macon Beer Company and don’t realize that they serve good grub.

“It is a little different for us when we moved in because our name was the same. People didn’t know we were a restaurant,” Hartzog said. “The biggest thing is letting people know that we have food and not just basic food. We have something a little more special.”

The restaurant’s goal is simple but effective: build a strong foundation with quality beer and then add food good enough to attract people by itself.

Macon Beer Company Taproom & Kitchen has tried to do this through a menu that highlights some local favorites with ingredients local people can appreciate, like pimento cheese, sweet potato tots and more.

They have also leaned into the beer a bit with items that include Macon Beer Company cheese.

Hartzog said that the one thing he has appreciated more than anything since the opening is the people who have been able to find that they love both their food and their beer.

“I have seen people become regulars because of our food. That has been exciting,” Hartzog said. “Then there are people who have never tried our beer before just because they’ve never come down to the brewery, and now we have got big fans of our beer as well.”

When the restaurant opened, owner Yash Patel told The Telegraph that one of the benefits to the new restaurant was to bring the area great food and to experiment a bit more with their beers.

“We have a smaller fermentation system over here, which allows us to put out more of experimental batches,”Patel said. “It gives us a lot more freedom and flexibility about what we can sell.”

Appetizer:

The offerings range from the standard spinach and artichoke to calamari. This really fits with the overall vibe of the restaurant. It feels like it can be a casual night out at the brewery with some finger foods but they also have offerings that make it feel like you can a big four-course meal. This flexibility is nice for someone who may not enjoy beer but is drawn strictly by great tasting food.

We opted for the fried mac and cheese bites. I try to order these whenever they are offered at a restaurant but I’ve never had any quite like this. The portion size is three large balls on top of a bed of marinara sauce. These are tasty on their own.

It offers a crunch with the breading but also mac and cheese inside is cooked to perfection. What sets this dish apart from any that I have tried is the marinara sauce. It adds an additional level of flavor that was not expected. It complements the mac and cheese ball well. Overall, this was the perfect start to this meal.

Wings:

This was the surprise of the entire meal. They have your typical wing flavors like garlic Parmesan, lemon pepper and mild to hot. But their more outlandish flavors really stand out, like the peanut butter and jelly-flavored wings.

We ordered 12 wings with four different flavors: peanut butter and jelly, lemon pepper, Korean BBQ and pineapple sweet chili.

I was skeptical of the peanut butter and jelly flavor. After one bite, I was a believer. This should be on every wing flavor menu. It provided a sweet and savory taste. It was like the perfect balance of flavors that happened to be on a well-cooked chicken wing that tasted good even without a sauce at all.

The lemon pepper was a great wing for those who aren’t looking to be adventurous with one of their more creative flavors. The Korean BBQ and the pineapple sweet chili each provided a bit more heat compared to the light kick from the lemon pepper. The wings felt like the stars of the meal.

Pizza:

Macon Beer Company has drawn a definitive line on its menu from appetizers all the way down to its pizza.

They have one side for those looking to get out of their comfort zone and one side for the more conservative eater.

They have pizzas with fried chicken and collard greens or the standard pepperoni and ground beef.

Their specialty pizzas really showcase their creativity with this menu, but each ingredient they chose feels very intentional. It isn’t just random ingredients to try and get people with the “wow” factor. It is a genuine attempt to combine different flavors to create new combinations that aren’t generally thought of on a pizza.

We went with the Smokey Night specialty pizza. It is topped with pimento pepper goat cheese, smoked brisket, onions and peppers, topped with queso fresco. The brisket provides a welcome change to the traditional meat that goes on a pizza.

The crust typically where a pizza is made or break for me. This crust is light, somewhere between thin and thick. The ends of the pizza are typically a bit too doughy for me. But here it was like a small breadstick.

The other point that a pizza might lose me on is the sauce. Some places tend to go way too heavy on the sauce and it drowns out the flavor of everything else. Here they go light on the sauce and it serves more as a compliment than the main dish.

By the end of the meal, I was already contemplating which pizza to try the next time I come in. There are so many choices and it is a mission now to try as many as possible as the choices and combinations feel relatively endless.

Beer:

It would’ve been irresponsible to come to a brewery and taproom without trying their beer. I am not a big beer drinker and tend to shy away from the craft beer scene as a whole. In the last year, I have attempted to slowly find my way around what I like and don’t like. India Pale Ales or IPAs are normally a flat out no for me. They are too bitter for my taste buds. But we grabbed a small flight that included an IPA, a sour gose and a nitro stout.

Sea Legs, the sour gose, was my favorite. It was a beer that fits well with a meal. It isn’t a sour that slaps you in the mouth but it as a sweet taste that is a bit more appealing for someone who doesn’t like a bitter flavor.

Fireside, the nitro stout, had a strong coffee flavor to it. This was one that took me a bit out of my comfort zone as it was the first nitro stout that I have tried. But was a nice introduction as it wasn’t overpowering.

The Middle Child, the IPA, was probably the most surprising of the group. As mentioned above, they aren’t my thing but this one was different. It was light, crisp and offered a good flavor. This could be the start of a love for IPA as it was a great tasting beer that goes well with a meal.

Cost:

Smokey Night: $15

12 wings: $14

Fried mac and cheese: $7

Beer flight: $10

Macon Beer Company:

Location: 458 2nd St, Macon, GA

Hours: Mon - Thursday: 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.; Friday - Saturday: 11:00 am - Close; Sunday: 11 a.m- 9 p.m.

Price range: $5-$18

This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 6:00 AM.